art, pome, pomeglobal, pomeTeam - March 23, 2017

A Crisp Set of Leaves

Few forms of art instantaneously strike as much controversy amongst the masses as graffiti. There are as many people who will go see work by famed street art phenomena Banksy in a world class museum, as will passionately declare the entire genre as vandalism. For half a century now the war has waged between advocates of free speech, and those who argue against defacing public and private property. For those like myself who view graffiti as a medium for self-expression, leaving your tag can be an action used to SPEAK OUT, BE HEARD, and BE SEEN. A statement telling the world “I’M HERE, I EXIST.” The acronym p.o.m.e. (Product Of My Environment) embodies the combination of urban culture, outdoor lifestyle, and self-expression that graffiti has always symbolized.

Graffiti artist Brazo from the Initiative Arts Collective, Videographer/Musician Adam Allington of Illuminate Multimedia, and North Carolina State University all share these beliefs with p.o.m.e.. So we set out earlier this month to the historic Free Expression Tunnel at NCSU to celebrate these ideals and raise brand awareness. Armed with 14 cans of Montana paint, a sketchbook, speaker, tripod and canon 5d mk ii dslr camera, we set forth onto the campus to leave our mark.

With the main objective of completing a p.o.m.e. logo mural, and secondary objective of recording a video timelapse, we traversed through the tunnel in search of the perfect place to paint. A place to leave our mark, capture the audience and influence the growing minds of the NC State students. A place to add our product to the many layers upon layers of paint, from all the creative souls that have expressed their own product in that environment for so many years. NCSU has been an ally of self-expression since the tunnel was first painted for North Carolina Veterans in 1968.m

With the perfect canvas at the foot of the tunnel, Brazo was ready to navigate his objective of our mission with a creative mind and his paint. His unique skillset to aid us in our branding efforts results from a diverse set of influences that allow him to tackle any terrain. As Brazo fired the respective first shots of paint, it didn’t take long for p.o.m.e. to take centerstage on the wall. The wall transformed from a blob of colors to “a crisp set of leaves” next to our signature acronym. People passing by were as intrigued as I was by the artist’s work. The bright orange and green brought a bit of mother nature into the city, much like our eco inspired, recycled clothing.

Big ups to Brazo for creating such a beautiful piece and kudos to Adam and Illuminate Multimedia for helping us put this together. Adam was particularly excited, as p.o.m.e. is his first early adopter for his newest business venture, Illuminate Multimedia. Using his cumulative experience gained as a professional musician, instructor, and Arts Entrepreneurship minor from North Carolina State University, brings a unique method to the business of art that is custom tailored to each artist. The idea is to shine light onto the dark mystery of unveiling creative ventures to the public, brand consultation, and content creation for artists by artists.

In our video you can hear his recent remix of Wonderwall by Oasis while you watch the timelapse he did for us. We found it interesting that he can record your album as well as develop the visual content; truly a multifaceted artist.

Thank you both very much for making this project come to life! Can’t wait to start planning our next adventure!